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Quote of the week

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Illinois

* Gov. Pat Quinn, speaking today about legislators who refuse to support budgetary revenue increases….

“I would say to legislators who think we have to cut,” Quinn said, “Maybe they can take some of those prisoners home to their own houses when they get out of jail.” An audience of more than 500 people at the City Club of Chicago luncheon laughed at that line.

The governor’s doomsday proposal would let 6,000 prisoners out of jail early.

* And the runner-up quote also goes to Quinn…

“We have to think big — we can’t be piddly-diddling,” Quinn said.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, May 18, 09 @ 1:58 pm

Comments

Cue the banjo for the downstate markets….

Comment by Vote Quimby! Monday, May 18, 09 @ 2:00 pm
I have never heard the saying piddly-diddling before. Piddly-diddly seems vaguely familiar, but still I think Quinn made it up.

Of course it could just be generational thing. If this is the case, hopefully some of the wiser blog readers can let me know what it is all about. From the context I would say it means small minded or lackadaisical.

Comment by Mike Murray Monday, May 18, 09 @ 2:28 pm
Maybe it’s like “dilly - dallying”?

Comment by Scooby Monday, May 18, 09 @ 2:34 pm
“The audience laughed”? Those in the City Club crowd should also take inmates home. I am sure plenty of Civic Federation and Commercial Club types were there yukking it up.

Comment by Reality Check Monday, May 18, 09 @ 2:35 pm
I used to have some respect for the City Club until I saw a re-broadcast of a Rose Andolino talk about O’Hare expansion and there was not one question from the audience. Nothing about cost over-runs, if she would be able to handle the new combined department of OMP and Aviation, etc., not a question from the Daley lackies in the crowd. Disgusting.

Comment by James the Intolerant Monday, May 18, 09 @ 2:48 pm
Thanks (Elected-As-Lt. Gov) Governor Quinn for continuing the commonsense narrative of “all prisoners are inherently dangerous” with this careless rhetoric. Who cares that racial profiling, disproportionate drugs laws and sentencing funnels non-white bodies into jails like clockwork.

6,000 prisoners released early isn’t doomsday, its probably as close to justice as this state will get thanks to the systemic injustices mentioned above as well as constant backlog of clemency petitions.

Comment by UGH Monday, May 18, 09 @ 3:25 pm
If you want to cut back on the number of inmates in prison, and are forced to let some be paroled sooner than expected, it is important for a governor to ensure that the security of the state is not threatened and that citizens recognize that every precaution will be taken.

What Quinn is doing however, is threatening. His actions are defined as retaliatory. His casual willingness to use this threat in order to get Illinoians to pay more taxes may work - but by using this tactic, the Governor sinks to a new low.

Comment by VanillaMan Monday, May 18, 09 @ 3:31 pm
Arnold made the same threat yesterday in Kah-Lee phone ya, about releasing inmates. Is Illinois in worse shape than Cali?

Comment by techboy Monday, May 18, 09 @ 3:49 pm
Let the drug-use offenders go. It would be safer than leaving them in to learn how to be “real” criminals from the other prisoners.

Comment by Anon Monday, May 18, 09 @ 3:53 pm
If you want to cut back on the number of inmates in prison, and are forced to let some be paroled sooner than expected, it is important for a governor to ensure that the security of the state is not threatened and that citizens recognize that every precaution will be taken. - Vanillaman

Um, sorry, but No VM.

The state police are being cut too.

Huge budget deficit and raising taxes B-A-D, remember?

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Monday, May 18, 09 @ 4:18 pm
You took my quote out of context. I was explaining that it isn’t a good thing for a governor to handle discussions like this, in this manner.

Quinn is threatening instead of leading. Not a good thing. Even if he “wins”, he loses.

Comment by VanillaMan Monday, May 18, 09 @ 4:23 pm
VM,

He isn’t threating anything. The stark facts are that without a tax increase we will have to cut services/spending by the amount to balance the budget.

The cuts are not pretty, but they are the facts.

Comment by How Ironic Monday, May 18, 09 @ 4:34 pm
We went to sleep on the Good Ship Lollipop and woke up on the Titanic.

Comment by A Citizen Monday, May 18, 09 @ 4:40 pm
VMan, no threats. If you don’t have the cash, you have to make some moves. That’s life, daddio.

Comment by wordslinger Monday, May 18, 09 @ 8:31 pm
What a fool. Time to flush the Chicago Dems out of State government. Let them run the City and County into the ground, leave the rest of us alone.

Yes, PQ, we do expect that normal state functions, like building roads and putting bad guys away, will be done first. Once that’s done, you can look at other things.

What a fool.

Comment by Bobs yer Monday, May 18, 09 @ 8:34 pm
let inmates run free AND cut local city funds so there is no police protection - GREAT IDEA

Comment by rural route Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 8:43 am
I think the gov is one of the few that understand the situation. The budget is in the bottom of the cistern, guys. Illinois has low taxes and a huge deficit. Enough with the knee-jerk anti-tax talk. The free lunch is over.

Comment by Ahem Tuesday, May 19, 09 @ 8:59 am